MGS4: Dreaming of Raging Raven

There are moments in videogaming where defeating a heavily frustrating boss would reward you with halcyon. Complete peace and relaxation. Let it be super long cutscenes or a very satisfying ending. In Metal Gear Solid 4's case, however, can be both another problem and at the same time the best part of the fight. I'm talking about the BB corp: The Beauty and The Beast. Here's the story. Once you beat these bosses, they come out of their terrifying (yet full of *new word* Super Awesome) suits and reveal REALLY SEXY BEAUTIFUL women. (I would like to thank God and Kojima).

Behind Raging Raven's infinite rage is a woman of vanity. I am thankful for it.

The worst part is that when they come near you, they suck the life out of snake and you'll be screwed if you don't get her off (please, not that kind of thinking). So don't take out your camera or else you might find yourself in the corner with the beauty walking ghost-like towards your doom (a real graceful serene ghost-like walk.. *slap myself*).

Snake: Ms. Raven, you are trying to seduce me! Raven: No I am not. *Absorbs HP*

It was freaky at first but if you wait for awhile before you shoot her to sleep (or death if you use lethal force. Why would you do it, I don't know unless you're crazy or you're a gamer girl taking the controller from your boyfriend while he unrolls his tongue) you'll enter this dream like sequence where the surrounding turns all white, like the Matrix if you get what I mean. Best photo opportunity! Take your camera and they start posing for you only for awhile before they start chasing you again. Best advice is to ZOOM IN, don't walk closer!

Japanese Model Yumi Kikuchi is a personal friend to Kojima and was given the honor to be immortalized as the beauty behind the beast.

Yumi Kikuchi though not voice acting of which the honor goes to Nika Futterman and Fred Tatasciore (a scary combination..) lends her face for one of the beauties. What I am amazed about is how they beautifully rendered her in 3D. Try comparing the photos and you can see why MGS4 is a technical achievement without flaw.

Kojima is well known for placing sexual images in the MGS series. Be it Meryl in her underwear, hidden posters of Japanese models, EVA, and finally the Beasts.

I guess I am lucky today. Apparently you can export the photos to your PS3 hardrive then you can transfer them to your USB and blog it up on the computer. It's great because it's all in HD quality. So here's what I'm going to do:

I'm going to blog up every fight with the beasts then post it up here. Let's say it is my gaming blog section. So I only have Crying Wolf and Screaming Mantis left and as for Laughing Octopus, since I found the camera in Act 3 I'll save her best for last.

In the mean time, here are some more photos of my encounter of the angry beauty known as the voluptuous Raging Raven. Cheers.

Unforgettable.. that's what you are...

Unforgettable... though near or far...

Similar posts:
[Tuesday, August 28, 2007] http://thezeolotdiary.blogspot.com/2007/08/beauty-and-beast-unit-bosses-of-metal.html
[Thursday, August 30, 2007] http://thezeolotdiary.blogspot.com/2007/08/models-for-beauty-and-beast-unit.html

5000

So I reached Five Hundred page views on my blog. I'm glad because it's like I finally reached something. Apparently, if I had been updating my blog like I did months ago, I would have reached 5000 earlier and maybe by now I would have 9000 (just a theory!).



Thank you everyone for reading my blog. I am know hoping you guys would come back and start trashing my tagboard with messages. Always fun to read and always a pleasure to hear from all of you.

Cheers.

I Dreamed a Dream a Time Gone By

Originally titled "J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie". I dreamed of another life. The song belongs to Fantine, a factory worker who secretly sends money to her illegitimate child but is then caught in a conflict which causes her dismissal then forces her to prostitution. In the musical "Les Miserables", she sings about a dream of her former years when love was thought to conquer all before the man she loves abandoned her.


[Les Miserables] 10th anniversary - I Dreamed a Dream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt-IBJpEMzA

I dreamed a dream of time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living,
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid,
No song unsung, no wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.

He slept a summer by my side.
He filled my days with endless wonder,
He took my childhood in his stride,
But he was gone when autumn came.

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together!
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather.

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

Most of you would know this song to be the one song sang by the incredible Susan Boyle, a woman in her 40s who hasn't been kissed before but still dreams of stardom. The power of her singing combined with the equally powerful lyrics are a strong inspiration for those who still aspire for love and chasing dreams.

Dream Machine

White polycarbonate shell. The word swirls repeatedly in my mind floating in the sea of dreams. *sigh* Good things come to those who wait but you can't help but think of those good things while waiting.

13-inch
2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR2 Memory
160GB Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
Standard Keyboard
White polycarbonate shell

Yes, I'm talking about the Macbook!

I remember Cikgu Rahmah, my Form 5 Geography teacher and serial movie spoilering favorite (Thank you Teacher for telling me who dies in whatever film that I plan to watch. ARGH), recommended to me time and time again to get a Macbook as a first choice in computers. Well, I always take Cikgu Rahmah's advice at heart (and your movie spoilers. ARGH) but I already made my decision earlier.

First of all I remember the Windows Vista being a big disappointment and how people tend to stick to the XP most of the time. Then there was this rage for laptops and people are clawing their heads for either a DELL, or an ASUS, or an HP etc. Most of the time its for its gaming capabilities (graphic card, processor, RAM, space).
However, the thing about me wanting macbooks is not for the games (did I hear someone say liar?). It's true. In fact I'm really in it for its publishing aspects.

Nowadays all the creative stuff gets done with the Apple Mac, like Garage Band! Imogen Heap uses a macbook on live shows and there are cartoonists using macbooks to complete their works. Plus, there are programs for webpages. Maybe someday I'll start blogging on the thing.

I'm going to fall asleep now and start dreaming a macbook and hopefully I won't drool over the pillow. See you dudes!

Institute Technology Brunei

So I got up this morning, and I realize I'm suppose to be heading off to ITB for registration. I did the whole familiar routine: shower, shave, epically wear every piece of clothing, then my favorite part: staring at the mirror for 5 minutes before leaving (hahaha jk). During moments like these, you've got to dress to impress. You'll meet some people you're not familiar with and may come across some of your old ones. Trouble is, it is really hard to smile if you got a metal fence as teeth (not to worry, my braces will be gone soon!).

MIB. Not Melayu Islam Beraja. Men in Blue.

Here's the story. All I had to do is fill out another form complete with copies of my IC, passport photos and Bank book then complete it with a receipt for insurance. Funny thing though. TAIB, IBB and BIBD were all there like its another expo going on, this time excepting customers straight away. But it also looks like BIBD is introducing student accounts that might be linked to computer loans. I guess I didn't need one since I already have an account.

So we are only inside 1/4 of the whole place?!

So after all that, it was time to leave but I wanted to see around what the campus is like. I didn't tread far but looking from a scale model of the place, it looks like the small building was only a tip of the iceberg. Maybe once I start for real, I'll go look around and maybe see the sports field and other things (like that shop inside campus. They sell newspapers and shampoo, can you believe it?).

ooo, vending machine! Finally a real emergency box!

Old or new, it's still sweet!

Well, it looks like there is no rugby in the list of ECAs but I can change that. My team mates are in the Uni so maybe looks like we're going to have to mix with the UBD Sharks (yes, Miza! I'm also considering it!). Better yet, maybe start my own team ^^.

No uniforms, just yourself.

I'm off to school. I'm not going go over dramatic on this and say "Tomorrow is a New Day" (in which technically I already said it). It's great that I get to go back to school (Ziggy! What are you saying?!). I miss the life and these eight months do seem unforgiving at times. Now it's time to hit books again.

Congratulations to everyone who got into UBD and ITB. It looks like we just made a big leap from college there. But what will expect? New life, new culture, new stories to tell. And how about your other friends who may not be by your side? We get these break away from our friends alot, and it's always sad. I tell you what, don't forget us. Keep that image of you and your friends together in your head, especially the best memories you had together.

Yes, it is very emotional for me. There aren't many people I know getting into ITB but I can only hope and stay optimistic that I will definitely see my old friends, and maybe make new ones. I guess there is always a time when you get to share stories like before another day.

Well, looks like there are somethings I need to do before the actual studying begins. Clean my room, it's a mess ^^

Have fun, enjoy like always.

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince: Review

I haven't done a movie review for a long time so bear with me.

The film is really about growing up. Six films is really a long way for the cast, that is why you can see much of its maturity in the film. The film forces you to reconnect with the previous movies (particularly the first and second)so as to remind you how the series had evolved since its beginnings. As if it had been done deliberately to prepare you for the final chapter, The Deathly Hallows coming out the next year.

They said the book was the darkest and most emotional of all seven books. The film is no exception to that.

First of all, it's the acting that surprises you. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) sheds his bully persona as we normally see in the previous films to reveal a tortured soul that is clearly showing personal conflict between life and duty inside. What else can we say about Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), finally gained more screen time than the earlier films, is now a powerful character that forces its way into the roster of main characters. I don't know if this is just me, but why do I sense a bit of the late Richard Harris in Dumbledore? I'm not saying Michael Gambon didn't make an original portrayal. Maybe it is the direction where we are treated to the spirit of the former Dumbledore for nostalgic effect.

The film really captured the different genres that surrounds this film. But what most people did not expect is its horror aspect. Terrifying in fact it is surprising that it is in a PG film. However, the romance plays its powerful part in the film. Yes, romance is the driving plot of the film.

Warming up, are we?

My favorite part of the review: the direction. David Yates's induction into the roster of Harry Potter directors makes him the perfect choice. In fact, maybe agree that Yates's style in his direction (as seen in Order of the Phoenix, remember that final battle? Woosh!) makes him the most prominent director in the series and of course, we want to see more of his work in the next addition, The Deathly Hallows.

What about the writing? Steve Kloves returns in the writers helm, creating a screenplay that pretty much sticks out from his earlier Harry Potter films, introducing a more thematic and emotional screenplay. Even in the beginning we are already treated with an idea of what the film will be like, like for example the film begins with Harry leaving the Ministry of Magic after the tragic loss of his godfather which introduces the emotional aspect of the film while later the scene where Harry is first seen in a Cafe talking to a waitress introduces the romance and adolescent aspects. Ok, you might think this is a pretty heavy movie. Well the comedic scenes tend to lighten up the emotional load. It does not forget the fact that this is meant to be a film enjoyed by all ages.

It was Luna Lovegood, not Tonks that saves Harry in the train.

For the pessimistic film-goers, if you had the read the book you might feel some of it should have been included into the film. But I tell you what, only if you are a diehard, must be true to the book, fanatic then I guess you might feel disappointed (in fact, you shouldn't start on watching the films if you're like that). I guess that scenes from the book missing in the film are, how do you say this.. fleshed out in new ways. Although, there are some aspects that tend to leave you questioning if you had not read the book. In my opinion, I hope when the DVD gets out they'd fill it with deleted scenes that might help a bit.

Some flashbacks of Tom Riddle were omitted, so you get the important bits only. "Dumbledore: Did I know that I just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time? No." Aww, come on! That's Ralph Fiennes's nephew there! Don't you think he looks creepy enough??

Overall, the theme of romance and adolescence along with magic and fantasy created this film the most exciting in the series. The film is written and directed expertly which may well be the best Harry Potter film in the series.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Oh yes, Quidditch returns. How can not forget the intensity and the sportsmanship of Quidditch? But I have to be sorry, Harry, your time to shine really flew with the snitch. Ron is now the blazing Quidditch player.

Oh gee, Harry. I never thought I'd be here like this if it weren't for wizard sidekick gym. (Well, he does look muscular.)